Section 2 c) Key Words

Active site: The part of the enzyme that catalyses the reaction, the 'key' part of the lock and key model.

Amino acid: The monomer of a protein. A molecule made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen that bonds with other amino acids to form proteins.

Carbohydrates: Long chain molecules (polymers) made up of monosaccharides, e.g. starch or glycogen

Denatured: When the active site of an enzyme is changed

Disaccharide: Made up of two monosaccharides. e.g. sucrose

Enzyme: A biological catalyst. It is a type of protein that has an 'active site' that it uses to break down substrates into products, or bind them together. e.g. amylase, protease

Fatty acid: Three of these bind with a molecule of glycerol to form a lipid. Made of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

Glucose: A monosaccharide that makes up carbohydrates such as starch or glycogen.

Glycerol: One of the building blocks of a lipid. Attaches to three fatty acids.

Glycogen: A carbohydrate that animals make to store glucose. A polymer.

Lipid: Oil or fats, made up of glycerol and three fatty acids (Each made of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen: CHO)

Monomer: A single unit, simple molecule. Many of these bind together to form a long-chain polymer.

Monosaccharide: A simple, single sugar, e.g. glucose

Polymer: A long-chain molecule made up of lots of monomers bound together

Polysaccharide: A complex sugar made up of lots of monosaccharides.

Protein: Polymer of amino acids. Organic chain of molecules.

Starch: Storage of carbohydrates in plants, long-chain molecule of glucose.

Substrate: The 'reactants' in an enzyme-aided reaction.